Temporary Reprieve
by skidtick
Summary: There are times you feel a little lonely when a stranger passes by. Hinata. Kakuzu.


A/N Pre-Shippuden Hinata

**Temporary Reprieve**

_Rain touching your face;_

_The strange cold lonely caress;_

_Strangers feel it too;_

XXX

Have you ever wanted to be in somebody's head? It would be a strange feeling; human thoughts aren't easy to read. They are a myriad of contradictions, firing off in the blackness of the skull, trying to find a way out – to be heard.

Strangers out there were just like her, Hinata realized. They never spoke to you, but not out of unfriendliness. Such people remain the hole of knowledge in her world. What do you they do? Where do they live? Who do they love?

How many friends has she not made simply because they were strangers?

And because Hinata's life seemed full of strangers who she never saw again – the life of a ninja has its risks – she couldn't help but feel a little twinge of loneliness for every stranger that crossed her path.

What were they thinking?

The day a missing-nin was caught and killed in her village opened up new perspectives as well. She remembered being held tightly, a kunai pressed into her throat and a voice that hissed in her ear words of violence and hate.

Neji saved her. The missing-nin died.

She saw him die, lying down on the floor. There was no blood though, internal injuries don't bleed much. However, they hurt a lot more than external wounds. The word "Gentle Fist" was one big misnomer, the criminal died in agony. As he should have.

But justified or not, Hinata wondered who he was thinking of when the light finally faded from his eyes.

As deep as her thoughts were though, they did nothing to lessen the discomfort of squelching through thigh high mud, fighting against the howling wind. The rain was blowing against her face horizontally, stinging the eyes and rolling across her face.

It was not a good idea to walk to the bookstore on such a threatening day. Especially because it was midnight. The Hyuga household however, was not known for leaving young heiresses alone when they wanted to be, and visiting the bookstore on such an ungodly hour was actually a tradition for all upcoming Hyuga heirs.

Hinata recognized the small shop, pressed on either side by larger, and more commercialized shops that sold things from kunais to ribbons and, glancing at the package she clutched to her chest: some junk food.

The bookstore was always open for twenty four hours and gave very clear information on what would happen to people who browsed. If there was a book you wanted, you buy it. Before then, under no circumstances should you attempt to read its contents.

Money was saved that way because it stopped people from just grabbing a book off the shelf, reading it and walking out of the shop, never to be seen again.

A hidden village at midnight was a quiet place. Clubs and other night owl activities were located near the borders, and were often quite discreet.

This is why, Hinata felt creeped out when she saw the dark hulking figure, leaning against the wall by the bookstore.

It's midnight, and there was a dark mysterious figure. Unlike Sakura, Hinata did not receive a fortune cookie that said: _Tonight, you'll find romance with a dark mysterious figure_

There was clearly several obvious risks in approaching him.

The dark figure seemed to take no interest in her pale approaching figure. He stood somewhat resigned to the rain, hunched with hands folded in front of his chest; the cold and unpleasant weather did nothing to disturb his unnatural stillness.

"U-um, a-are you alright?"

At first, there was no immediate answer aside from the tilting of a head to indicate that he heard her. Still saying nothing, he leaned the other way away from her prying gaze."

Body language can speak volumes.

Or so Hinata thought when she learned Naruto still had no idea about her feelings for her.

"H-hey, y-you'll g-get s-sick if you just s-stay out here..."

She contemplated the wisdom of seizing his sleeve and leading him to shelter.

In the end, her intervention was not necessary when the hulking figure spoke.

"Go home."

"U-uh, you can s-stay in the b-bookstore w-with me, i-it's generally fine a-as l-long as you sn-sneak in the back way."

Silence.

"A-and there's also f-food?"

Silence.

"I m-mean the w-weather is p-pretty bad, w-wouldn't you like to g-go somewhere w-warmer?" Hinata continued just as a huge gust of wind blew from the corner, rattling every window on the street. Hinata squealed and covered her head at the sudden disturbance.

The stranger did nothing, staying just as still until the wind died down. There was nothing to indicate any physical discomfort that he might feel.

"I'm fine here."

"A-ah, I s-see."

The cloak he was wearing did seem thick and warm, very different from the thin jacket Hinata was currently wearing. She shivered. The man noticed.

"Maybe you're the one who should be going."

"T-Thanks. Goodbye," Hinata gave a small nervous wave before skipping off into the bookstore. Now that she wasn't looking at the stranger, she had the uncomfortable feeling that he was looking at her.

It wasn't difficult to sneak into the bookstore. There was even a convenient nook, a good hiding spot right in the romance section. While Hinata will never admit it, though many have already figured it out, she was a hopeless romantic, in love with the Mills and Boon novels that make a monkey look literate.

Glancing embarrassingly at the books, each one decorated with a half naked man and a swooning woman, Hinata blushed and played several un-Hinata like scenarios in her head.

Oh, it looks like the new books just came in.

She picked one at random – _Her Forbidden Passion_ – and began to read:

_As Eliza glanced passionately at her King, her mouth parted open and a slight gasp left her breathless. He was a God. Never before has she felt so vulnerable. Never before has she felt so scared. But never before has she felt so loved as his muscular arms encircled her waist. She shut her eyes and sweat dripped from her neck from the sheer intensity of his heat._

Hinata blushed and felt sweat drip from the sheer intensity of blood immediately rushing to her face. Almost as an afterthought, she glanced out of the window, only to see that the stranger was still standing out there in the rain.

She could have sworn that he had not moved one inch from his original position. While nice and warm in the bookstore, just by seeing the rain whip against the windows made her shiver. With weather like this, it was bound to start hailing soon, better get back before the rain worsens.

It was disappointing really; Hinata had always finished one book before she left. Today was breaking her regular routine.

The book was slid back into its original shelf and Hinata swore to find out if Eliza ever managed to be with her King on her next visit.

As she snuck out the back door again, she noticed the cloaked figure was no longer there. There were no footprints left on the muddy ground either, so he must have been gone for awhile. Though because it was raining so hard, footprints washed away in seconds.

That was a relief. He must have gone to find shelter or something.

Speaking of shelter... Hinata hurried back to the Hyuga compound.

She didn't notice the green eyes that watched her go.

XXX

"U-um mister?" Hinata said. "Y-you're here again..."

The dark hunched figure didn't move. The rain was even worse on this second night and maybe he wanted to concentrate on keeping his fingers from falling off.

"You're here again too."

Hinata nodded, face flushing from his unexpected reply.

"I-I'm h-here every night."

Her faced flushed even redder as she realized the strange and perhaps inappropriate connotations of her words. Fumbling a bit, she felt the need to clarify with the stranger's silence.

She gestured weakly at the bookstore.

"Books... when I c-can't sleep, I j-just l-like coming here to read."

"I know," the stranger said. "I can see you through the window over there." His head tilted towards the window which she herself had used to sneak a glance at him.

The stranger continued.

"It's quite dark in there. I'm surprised you can read."

"I-I h-have good eyes."

"Do you now?"

Hinata was about to say, yes she did have good eyes but realized that the stranger was really not paying her anymore attention when he turned away once more.

"S-so why are you out here?"

An annoyed, almost angry sound came from the stranger.

"Waiting for someone." _Who should have been here yesterday._

"A-aren't you tired?"

"No."

"Oh," Hinata managed before scuttling into the bookstore. She was embarrassed about speaking to a stranger who seemed almost hostile, disappointed that he really wasn't much of a conversationalist, ruining her dreams of getting to know a stranger but relieved that she could be away from his overbearing presence.

Besides, even with her umbrella, she was already soaking wet from the rain. She probably shouldn't have taken time out of her reading schedule talking to a stranger.

_Gasping, her hands clutched upon her King's sleeve. "Please! I can't live without you!" Her King turned towards her, face red, passionate and fierce as a lion as he gripped her hands. "I have to go Eliza, I love you too but my love, no, our love was never meant to be!" She felt his calloused hands brush against her elbow, crawl up her neck to her face. "I-I love you my King!" she proclaimed desperately. His mouth found hers, a searing hot sensation as he murmured against her lips, "I know... I know."_

"That's an interesting book you're reading."

She almost gave a shriek until a firm hand covered her mouth.

"Careful," the voice hissed.

Hinata's eyes twitched towards the cashier counter where the extremely bad tempered cashier worked. The cashier's life ambition was to make sure nobody ever browsed in his store. Ever.

Even Kakashi bought the Icha volumes before reading them.

The hand released her and she gasped silently. She turned around slowly, flushing that somebody had caught her reading the Mills and Boon novel, and looked at the stranger.

His back was to her and he appeared to be browsing the shelves.

The romance section was the only section that actually supplied ample shelves to effectively hide Hinata's night time activities.

She liked company.

However, she found it very difficult to concentrate on her book when thoughts of curiosity buzzed through her head.

_His mouth found hers..._

_His mouth found hers..._

_His mouth found hers..._

Hinata was reading the same phrase over and over again. She wondered what her companion was reading but he was reading with his back facing hers. Politeness halted her from using the Byakugan.

Eventually, she realized that the stranger had left the bookstore. She never even sensed him leaving. And she still hadn't finished her book.

Disgruntled, she left the bookstore yet again, determined to find out whether Eliza really did get together with the King or whether they would canoodle in sin for all of eternity.

XXX

The next night.

It seemed like the rain would never stop. Hinata squelched along the road to the bookstore. Byakugan activated, finding her way through the mist filled roads and rain soaked vision was easy.

She could also see a dark figure ahead of her.

Her guess had been right, he was still waiting for somebody. However, it appeared he chose not to sit on the chair she had earlier put out that afternoon in hopes that her dark mysterious stranger would at least rest his legs.

"H-hello," she said. Greeting a stranger was getting no easier.

Again, only the slight tilt of the head as acknowledgement.

It appeared last night's talkative behaviour would not be making another appearance.

"W-will you b-be coming in?"

The stranger straightened up, the most Hinata had seen him move. He appeared to glance both sides of the street, than as if convinced that whoever he was waiting for would not be coming, he have a dismissive shrug and followed her indoors.

They read back to back, Hinata leaning for support, him not really wanting her to see what he was reading. His back was quite warm.

They also had dinner that consisted of Hinata's store of junk food.

She found out he didn't like sweet things.

And though the rest of his background remained a dark space to her, Hinata felt that at least she probably knew him a bit better than other strangers. She was the stranger that knew him best.

"M-my n-name is Hinata. What's y-yours?"

"None of your business."

Hinata glanced back down at her half eaten pocky.

"Sorry..."

He had actually looked directly at her face when he answered though, breaking his gaze from whatever book he was reading.

Hinata had found someone with eyes as weird as hers.

In a way, they were very much the opposite. The milky white of her eyes made her seem blind and unfocused. The vivid green of his with black sclera, made him seem as if he could look at the thoughts at the back of your head.

After the stranger left once more, Hinata counted to thirty seconds.

Then, she turned towards the bookshelf and let her fingers trail over the spines of the books. Finally, she reached one book that was slightly damp from being held with wet hands. Pulling it out from its confinement, she read its title.

Who knew he liked Icha-Icha?

XXX

Hinata never told anybody that she had been spending her nights with a stranger.

They'd probably take it the wrong way.

She still thought of him as a stranger. There was none of the comfortable bond of friendship, the effortless laughter she shared with Kiba, and the close silent connection she shared with Shino.

Hinata mentioned that to him.

He remained silent for so long that she almost believed he did not hear her. Then, the sound of a small scoff of scorn was heard.

"Obviously," he said. "We're strangers."

"Y-yes. J-just that, sometimes w-when you s-see someone, y-you j-just want to k-know who they are."

No answer from his side.

"I-I mean, it's k-kinda like the life of a n-ninja. E-enemies e-everyday, they're the strangers you can't know. Y-you j-j-just h-have to get to k-know the strangers y-you s-see who a-aren't the enemies."

She gazed expectantly at him. A naive little girl. He sighed.

"For a ninja, all strangers should be enemies. It isn't important to get to know others. It's important to know when the next pay check comes in."

He glanced at her face. It looked disappointed.

"I'm not from this village."

_That means he is the sort of stranger that I should consider an enemy._

"I-I s-s-see."

It was nice however, the stranger thought, to be talking to someone who had no idea what you have done or what you are capable of. The Hyuga heiress was at his mercy each time she visited the bookstore. And soundlessly, he left the store, leaving Hinata to her thoughts.

Hinata felt it was completely wrong to judge people just because they have a philosophy you don't agree with. So she didn't.

Eventually, she left the bookstore. Her Forbidden Passion lay forgotten amongst the shelves. Sometimes, you just have to read your own mind before you start reading into the mind of fictional characters.

The rain brushed the back of her neck. The storm was over and there was only damp mist rather than the furious beating of water that was present just yesterday.

To be fair to Hinata, she was tired, it was three in the morning and she did not need the Byakugan to find her way back home.

There was a grip against her throat, a kunai pressed to her stomach and she found herself on the muddy ground. There were no stars, she thought as she glanced into the sky, her vision of the sky was completely blocked by the people surrounding her.

Their grins glowed white in the darkness.

"Hallo little girl," one voice said. "Going home by yourself? Why, it is ever so late..."

"We've been watching you," another voice said. "Walking around the wee hours... so deliciously. What a naughty girl you are."

One hand pushed up her jacket and felt up her stomach. She felt someone kick her on the head. Hard.

Red blood pooled and mixed with the brown mud.

She arched her back and tried to scream. Her struggles didn't seem to be having any effect – her assaulters must have had some military training.

An arm held her neck in a vice grip, slowly tightening and she gagged as the sudden lack of air made her head feel dizzy.

There were spots of blackness exploding from behind her eyelids.

Then suddenly, a gush of air. It wasn't fresh air. It smelled of blood and rain.

Blurrily, she saw what looked to be the silhouette of a dark mysterious stranger with tentacles waving lazily from his body. Her assaulters lay on the ground. There was a head next to hers, it had no body.

Hinata looked back up against the terrible image of a stranger and screamed.

She felt a blow to her head.

The next time she woke up, she was surrounded by concerned relatives. She was in a bed and she was fine.

What was unexplainable to her was why she snuck out of the compound again, and found her way to the bookstore. The rain was completely gone now.

It wasn't the only thing that was gone though – the stranger was no longer there. He must have found his friend. Was it even the same person who killed all those people and frightened her?

Down one corner, she thought she heard a voice say "Fuck you Kakuzu, after all the time I spend getting here and you treat me like shit."

Probably another drunkard...

She went back the next night, and the next. He never turned up again.

An S-rank missing-nin became the first stranger she ever knew, even if it was only a nagging suspicion that her stranger was even a criminal, let alone S-rank. And like all strangers, she never saw him again. However, unlike the ones that pass by casually by, he didn't leave the hole of emptiness behind.

Hinata never even learnt his name.

XXX

A/N

Eh, a bit slow paced? Anyway, reviews are very much welcome!


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